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Consumption and Waste Levels in Developed and Developing Countries

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT: The Amish and Sustainable Development

Diet, Nutrition and Chronic Diseases: An International Perspective

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POINT OF VIEW: Enviromentalism: Ideology and Ethics

Diet, Nutrition and Chronic Diseases: An International Perspective

The agricultural revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries in
Europe followed by the industrial revolution produced radical changes, racial
changes in food cultivation, distribution and availability. Recent technological
advances in food processing and increases in per capita income, especially in
industrialized nations, have led to profound changes in dietary preferences. One
notable change since the early part of this century is the dramatic and rapid
increase in consumption of fats and refined sugars - the "affluent" diet -
coupled with a substantial drop in complex carbohydrate intake. The improved
food supply and food security practically eliminated starvation, guarded against
micronutrient deficiencies, and led to improved nutritional status and increase
life expectancy. The longer term adverse health effects of the high-fat
"affluent" diet, however, have become apparent in the last few decades through
the emergence in industrialized countries of chronic diseases such as coronary
heart disease, carovascular disease, various cancers, obesity, and
non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

Fortunately, widescale scientific consensus that dietary factors
can precipitate chronic diseases and recognition that modest changes in
lifestyle and diet can achieve a substantial reduction in disease risk have
prompted public health action in most industrialized nations.

The last two decades - possibly as a result of such action have
witnessed a major reduction in cardiovascular disease mortality in the United
States, Australia, and much of Western Europe. In contrast, the emerging
democracies of Central and Eastern Europe, where the "affluent" diet is
presently in full vogue, continue to exhibit record increases in mortality from
cardiovascular-and other diet-and lifestyle-related diseases. Similar adverse
trends are also emerging in developing nations - that are gradually adopting the
"affluent," western, diet.

What can be done to halt or reverse these trends? The Central and
Eastern European region and the developing nations of Asia, Latin America, and
Africa now face the challenge of implementing public health policies that, on
the one hand, guarantee adequate nutrition for the undernourished, and on the
other, protect the population from the scourge of diet-related chronic diseases.

Dr. Sushma Palmer, Director, Central European Center for Health
and Environment. Presented at the Third International Conference on Health and
Environment; Global Partners for Global Solutions.

MINDFUL OF THE COMMONS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF MARKET
ECONOMIES

In the democratization throughout the former USSR and East Europe,
there are many critical themes now under discussion such as market economies,
privatization, welfare system, and Western aid. As an anthropologist, I want to
point out that there is another issue that commands special attention in that
usually zigzag developing processes - the Commons.

"The Commons" is a concept coined and popularized by G. Hardin, an
ecologist. Its essence consists in those resources that are needed but could not
be provided individually, such as those communal, natural, and environmental
resources (i.e., fisheries, forests, irrigation systems, grazing lands,
wildlife, highways, oil pools, etc.). The thesis of "The Tragedy of the Commons"
reveals the prevalent deteriorating situations in many parts of the world, and
denotes dynamic complex human relationships associated with the sharing and
management of those resources. Like many other countries, East Europe and the
former USSR also faced those problems in the past, and are encountering,
perhaps, more difficulties and worsening situations in their respective societal
developments toward democracies and market economies, especially in light of the
current ongoing transition period.

But human society can no longer afford the costs of the
destruction and disaster resulted from the neglect of mismanagement of those
limited resources. Scientists and practitioners have been seeking a variety of
solutions to the problems with the Commons, which include private enclosure,
communal collaboration, and public regulation. However, each of the proposals
has its utilities and limitations in different circumstances. For example,
privatization can promote formation and growth of market economies, but also can
create such troublesome issues as those of "land ownership" in East Europe; some
form of public regulation from time to time leads to the multiplex social
problems, while certain others are sometimes crucial in managing some specific
types of the resources. The Western countries in their modernization processes
have gained the valuable experiences and lessons from which the other countries
can learn so as to avoid or at least minimize the high prices paid in the
courses.

In my opinion, the definition of "Western aid" has to be expanded
in this very sense, and must be given new dimensions. The aid and assistance
should be provided to both short-term relief undertakings and long-term
conservation projects. The concrete advice and useful information regarding the
issues need to be offered in order to protect "common goods" and "public
interests" and reinforce "environmental consciousness" in these countries.
Moreover, it is practically important to identify and foster the indigenous ways
of sharing and administering of common property resources embedded in the
cultures. As the anthropologists demonstrate, there are various creative, vital
forms of the management at the grassroots levels, which are qualitatively
different from those derived from the totalitarian regimes or dogmatic
ideologies.

Although there exist lots of transition troubles in the former
UUSSR and East Europe, the issue of the Commons has to be dealt with in an
attentive way, before it is too late.